How many oranges and lemons to make Mary Poppins?

Be warned – there is a lot of orange and yellow coming up, so perhaps put on a pair of sunglasses…

Menton’s celebrated Fête du Citron (Lemon Festival) is in full swing at the moment, which means the town is heaving and it’s impossible to find anywhere to park – but of course it’s all great fun. Each year there is a different theme and this year it’s ‘Broadway!’ Preparations for the floats and static ‘motifs’ began months ago: a metal frame is constructed for each exhibit or float which is then covered in wire netting and each lemon or orange is fixed to the wire with a rubber band. This year 240 tonnes of fruit have been used – that’s over 1 million lemons and oranges. The fruit is not local but comes from Spain (it’s cheaper!) and because the famous Menton lemon has an ‘appelation controle’ – like wine. And it takes 500,000 rubber bands and a lot of man-hours for create these wonders.

The Lion King

It takes a lot of workers a lot of time for the wonders of the festival to be created in oranges and lemons. And that includes painting everything orange and yellow of course!

‘Cats’

Each Sunday there is a Corso (a carnival parade) through the town. This year the security is high so long waits to get into the area on the ‘Corso’ days – enormous trucks block all roads to the centre. And everyone is happy and thankful about that following the horrors of Nice on the 14th July last year.

Oops – confetti on the lens!

‘Les filles’ gettng ready …

‘Grease’ – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John

It looks like an anomaly of nature, doesn’t it but in fact this lemon, known as the Hand of Buddha (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis), is one of the oldest members of the citrus family. Although it smells strongly of lemon, it has no juicy pulp hidden beneath its rind. Instead, the Buddha’s Hand is grown commercially for its powerful zest. The aromatic rind is used to flavor lemon liqueurs and specialty vodkas, and provides aroma to lemon-scented cosmetics. Chinese and Japanese households use it to perfume their rooms and personal items, such as clothing. It even has a place in some religious ceremonies in buddhist temples. According to tradition, Buddha prefers the “fingers” of the fruit to be in a position where they resemble a closed rather than open hand, as closed hands symbolize to Buddha the act of prayer. You can buy this tree at the Fete du Citron in Menton.

About Me

I'm Jilly,

More than anything I love to photograph people. Every face tells a story, a moment captured on a camera tells a story. And that's always my aim - to tell a story, to share a feeling, an emotion. I love to photograph life as I see it around me here in the south of France, where I've lived for over twenty years.

And if there's a dog in the photo, so much the better! I'm currently working on a photography book featuring dogs of France and Italy. Luckily, I speak fluent 'dog' - my favourite language.